In an attempt to increase the rate of the production of coke, the art has resorted to (i) the use of coke-ovens with heights exceeding 16 feet (&gt;4.88 meters), (ii) the selection of coal blends which provide higher bulk densities and (iii) the use of faster coking rates--all of which lead to increased coking pressures. Such increased coking pressures result in flexure of the coke-oven wall which, in turn, results in stress concentrations in the refractory shapes and ultimately the failure of the refractories and loss of wall integrity. It has been found that the wall's inability to resist such increased pressure is, in large part, due to the fact that (a) existing mortars do not develop sufficient tensile bond strength to the brick and (b) such existing mortars acquire, during service, high compression and shear strengths which decrease the ability of the mortar to yield and thereby relieve stresses caused by wall flexure. These limitations of such currently available materials of construction (i.e. silica brick and silica coke-oven mortar) result in severe operating limits and reduced coke battery throughput, in addition to significantly reduced battery life.